Suwarno, Wittenberg, K. M., Ingalls, J. R. and McCaughey, W. P. 2000. Performance of lactating dairy cows fed macerated forage conserved as silage and hay. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 80: 123–129. The effect of forage maceration at harvest on silage characteristics and its effect on lactation performance of Holstein cows were determined. Either a roller conditioner or a prototype forage macerator manufa...

take potential (Van Soest, 1994). The concentration of NDF is heritable in several forage species, and rates of gain Voluntary intake is generally considered to be the single most from selection for reduced NDF concentration of herbimportant factor limiting animal performance on high-forage diets. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) is the laboratory variable most closely age are reported to be as hi...

Forage age and maturity generally have a larger influence on forage quality than environmental factors. Plant environment, however, cause deviations in forage quality even when harvested at the same maturity. Temperature usually has greater influence on forage quality than other environmental factors. Although increasing temperature normally hastens maturity, the primary effect may be through i...

Forages comprise 35% to 70% of the dry matter (DM) in diets for lactating dairy cows. Variation in forage quality can impact DM intake, diet energy density, dietary grain and protein supplementation amounts, feed costs, lactation performance, and cow health. Forage quality is highly variable among and within forage types (NRC, 2001). Forage species, variety or hybrid, stage of maturity at harve...

The beef cattle industry in the southeastern US relies primarily on the use of high-forage diets to develop replacement heifers, maintain the cow herd, and sustain stocker operations. However, forage quantity and quality changes with season and environmental conditions. Depending on the physiological state and animal category, forage-based diets may not always meet 100% of the nutritional requi...

BACKGROUND Current plant--herbivore interaction models and experiments with mammalian herbivores grazing plant monocultures show the superiority of a maximizing forage quality strategy (MFQ) over a maximizing intake strategy (MI). However, there is a lack of evidence whether grazers comply with the model predictions under field conditions. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS We assessed diet selection of sh...

A control group of 6 rabbits (Group A) received forage from uncontaminated areas. Two other groups (B and C) of 6 and 8 rabbi ts, 'respectively, were fed forage grown near Chizzola exclusively. Seventy days after the beginning of the experiment, the S rabbits of Group C were given forage artificially polluted with material obtained from the purifying equipment of the factory after it had been t...